Wia dis foto come from, Reuters
President Nayib Bukele say e go make am easier for pipo to send money home
El Salvador legal tender go soon be Bitcoin cryptocurrency, President Nayib Bukele announce on Sunday.
If congress support im plan, di Central American country go be di first for di world to formally adopt di digital currency.
Dem plan to use di Bitcoin alongside di US dollar, El Salvador official currency.
President Nayib Bukele say Bitcoin go make am easy for Salvadorans wey dey live abroad to send payments home.
“For di short term, dis go generate jobs and help provide financial inclusion to thousands outside di formal economy,” Oga Bukele tell one Bitcoin conference for Florida, adding say e fit also boost investment to di kontri.
Im tok say im go send di legislation to congress next week.
If e pass, di move go open up financial services to di 70% of Salvadorans wey no get bank accounts, di president tok.
El Salvador economy dey rely heavily on remittances, or money wey dem send home from abroad, wey make up around 20% of di kontri gross domestic product (GDP).
More dan two million Salvadorans dey live outside di country, but dey continue to keep close tie to dia place of birth, as dem dey send back more dan $4bn (£2.9bn) each year.
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Current services fit charge fees for transfers, wey fit take days to arrive and sometimes dem need to to pick am up in person, according to di announcement.
“Dis go improve life and di future of millions,” Oga Bukele tok.
Im no give more details about how di policy go work.
Bitcoin, a virtual asset wey no get direct connection to di real economy, don experience value inconsistency over di years.
‘PR value’
Strike, wey be one mobile payments app dey for El Salvador, and dem don begin work on di introduction of Bitcoin for di kontri, Reuters report.
“Adopting natively digital currency as legal tender provide El Salvador di most secure, efficient and globally integrated open payments network for di world,” founder Jack Mallers tok.
Rohan Grey, wey be expert wit Digital Currency Global Initiative, tell BBC say Oga Bukele na “young president wey dey try to capitalise on a popular image”.
“Plenty PR value to announce something like dis even if you if you never work out all di details,” im tok.
Oga Grey caution more generally say kontri wey dey adotp cryptocurrency as legal tender go give considerable control “to network wey no dey stable, wey no get accountable actors and wey no get track record to provide di kain price stability and liquidity wey currency suppose to provide”.
Roger Ver, from di website Bitcoin.com, say oda cryptocurrencies go do better job pass Bitcoin.
“Dis na fantastic news for all crypto-currencies in general, but wetin most of the world never realise be say Bitcoin no dey work as a currency again,” im tell BBC World.
“Now oda currencies, like Bitcoin Cash, or Monero or ZCash do far, far better job to work as a currency.”
A unique and bold step
Analysis box by Will Grant, Mexico and Central America correspondent
Di plan wey President Nayib Bukele announce go make di small Central American nation di first for di world to adopt di digital currency, Bitcoin, as legal tender alongside di dollar.
E go be unique and bold step, di first by a sovereign kontri, and wey fit be part of di attraction for Oga Bukele, a young, media-savvy and very popular leader wey dey worry Washington over im autocratic tendency.
Many questions still dey over how di digital currency go become di kontri legal tender – dem go need a major restructure of El Salvador financial infrastructure wit Bitcoin as di main currency.
But, in essence, e be like say na wetin Presido Bukele dey propose.
Much of El Salvador developing economy dey based on remittance from abroad and di move to digital currency fit allow family members to avoid di costly fees wey dey involve for sending money home each month.
Whether e happun or not, na move wey go likely to boost Bitcoin image as di “currency of di future” and President Bukele stand among im supporters as di innovator.
